Built in 1852 as the Louisiana Hotel, and rebuilt as the National Hotel in 1862 after a fire and a Civil War change of allegiance, the four-story structure at the end of Jackson’s main street has seen its share of history, from its days as a bordello in the 1860s, to hosting John Wayne’s poker parties in the 1960s, to its days housing a notorious bar in the 1980s. Purchased and refurbished in 2013 by owner Stanley Lukowicz, the hotel has regained its Victorian character. The historic bar was relocated to the basement level.

The “best-stocked bar in Amador County” (according to its manager), the National Hotel Bar does indeed offer a wide variety of local wines, beers and upscale spirits, including their prize bottle of Louis XIII cognac at $255 a glass. Their signature winter cocktail is a spiced rum caramel concoction served with or without coffee, depending on how long you’re planning your night to last. In the bar you’re likely to run into an equal number of locals out for a big night in town and tourists coming to dine at the steak house, or even a contingent of ghost hunters (as I met) come to the hotel to research the many spirits rumored to reside here (the word is to stay out of Room 311).

The banter flows freely from the plaid-clad crowd occupying barstools in this hole-in-a-wall, old-time clapboard saloon attached to the St. George Hotel in Volcano since 1933. It is home to both mounted moose heads and the Moose’s Milk cocktail, a combination of Bacardi 151 rum and Kahlua that would probably drop a half-ton moose right in its tracks. Historical photos and random mountain implements line the walls and hang from the ceiling, giving it the feel of a crazed mountain miner’s cabin.

A couple blocks away in Volcano, the Union Pub and Inn, built in 1880, houses its own historic bar serving local beers and wines. Refurbished to a more upscale bistro environment, the family-friendly spot has good burgers, fries, and mac and cheese. I’m not sure how many miners would have ordered the ricotta cheese gnocchi with wine-poached butternut squash and kale, but they no doubt would have enjoyed the Union’s selection from the Amador Brewing Co., including the chipotle-chile-infused wheat beer.

No longer offering lodging, the Plymouth Hotel Restaurant and Bar still serves drinks over the same wooden counter built for its opening in 1882, when the structure was the main stagecoach stop and boardinghouse for travelers passing through the area. Named for the nearby Plymouth Mine, the settlement of Plymouth was previously known as Pokerville and Puckerville, which speaks to its colorful past.

The dilapidated building was purchased and refurbished by current owner Dianne Walton-St. Francis in 1995, when she remade it into an Italian restaurant to reflect her heritage and interests. The bar currently features Engine 49 spirits from Amador Distillery (from nearby Jackson), and uses them to mix good Bloody Marys, martinis and Moscow mules, while the kitchen cooks up chili and panini. Stop by on a Wednesday evening for their all-you-can-eat spaghetti feasts.